While we think that is a low resolution, for their target market it is just about perfect. I work at a company that does E9-1-1 mapping software and we also have a mobile solution. The resolution isn't as important as the fact that the laptop can survive just about anything.Reply

I still find it surprising that at those starting prices, they can't manage to get a panel with decent resolution in. I don't expect greatness, but anything less than 1600x900on a 14" screen is pretty awful.Reply

I'd guess that it's intentional though. For the situations these types of laptops are typically used in a higher resolution display would typically be run scaled to the equivalent of 720p or lower. Reply

In most cases i would agree with you, But i think high-res screens in this category are just not available. To give you an idea of what we're talking about: toshiba's rugged laptops feature an display with 1000cd/m brightness.

Those are specifications that just aren't available in higher resolution displays.Reply

I see these doing very well in the resource industry indeed. When you're out in a rainforest/desert/tundra or 3 Km underground the last thing you care about on a laptop is a low resolution screen. Hell in most of those situations big pixels just make the mud covered screen easier to read and being able to bash the screen with thick gloves is just gravy. I've worked in a lot of pretty unpleasant environments and either of these is pretty damn close to perfect. Having said that the 12" with GPS is pretty much the sweet spot for me.Reply

Correct. IP-65 is the dust and water resistance (basically it's sealed), but dropping and other impact tests are a different matter. I think MIL-STD-810G covers most of that stuff, but I can't say I'm fully up to speed on all ruggedness testing. :-)Reply

We switch laptops between an unencrypted network and encrypted one fairly regularly; you swap the harddrives when you do that-there's different software on each that corresponds to each type of network, and what the network will allow you to do (no social media/IM/etc on the encrypted harddrive and network, obviously.)

Destruction of the harddrive is a secondary consideration; if you're to the point where you're having to bail, you're not supposed to keep a sensitive harddrive with you for obvious reasons.Reply

When you're out in a rainforest/desert/tundra or 3 Km underground the last thing you care about on a laptop is a low resolution screen. Hell in most of those situations big pixels just make the mud covered screen easier to read and being able to bash the screen with thick gloves is just gravy. http://u.to/bKbTBgReply